


Pillars of Salt

by Osidiano



Series: Architect [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Biblical References, Canon - Anime, Canonical Character Death, Card Games, Cultural References, Explicit Language, Heterosexuality, Mental Instability, Mind Games, Minor Character Death, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Psychological Trauma, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2004-08-11
Updated: 2007-04-25
Packaged: 2018-04-19 15:13:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4751009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Osidiano/pseuds/Osidiano
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A continuation of the series, starting with a slight twist on the DOOM arc. The God Cards have been stolen, and Yuugi will have to battle a strange new foe to get them back. He's certain that DOOM is out of their league up until Obelisk is summoned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Openers of the Way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this after reading Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock, and I plan on making several references to his book and research. This story starts about one month after the events of the Alkatraz arc.

". . .Every shadow that touches our world is the hand of evil. No matter how frail, no matter how gentle or delicate its caress, this that I have mentioned is true. A shadow is a piece of the dark, cut out and cast aside for reasons unfathomable to our human minds. This does not mean or imply that all shadows are wholly evil. On the contrary, some of the deepest evils have truly good intentions harbored near their heart. But within every good soul is a demon, and the cleaner the soul, the more pure and beautiful, the uglier is that lurking monster. Sometimes it is just below the surface; sometimes it has been buried by time and memory."

A pause in the thinking, sudden stop as the speaker turned his gaze to the door, head tilted to one side as he listened. There, from the stairs down the short hall, came the sound that had caused the break in his revelations. It was the soft thumping of feet on the carpeted steps, the brash laughter of one of his friends coming to him. He glanced down at his golden prison on the desk, sitting beside a deck of cards that wasn't needed now, and wondered why they were there. What purpose did this serve — his immortal soul's imprisonment in a beautifully gilded cage? What game could have been important enough to continue like this: saving it and replaying it a hundred times over, destroying thousands of lives and dreams each time the field was reset? What kind of a man would do such a thing? And what kind of a king would that man have been. . .?

"Sometimes even I have to wonder what kind of a monster I am, to hide within my own shadow. . ."

The door jerked open, new arrival cursing sharply before falling to the floor. He needed to see only the matted tangle of blond hair — so very unusual in Japan — to know who it was. Katsuya Jounouchi, now a reformed thug and duelist, looked around the room, through the shadow by the desk, and pushed himself to his feet.

"O-oi! Yuugi? Hey, where are you?" he asked loudly, almost as if expecting to see his companion jump out of a closet and yell 'here I am.' A shrug, and Jounouchi closed the door, oblivious to the shadow's presence. The shadow looked down to his hands, palm up like he was searching for. . .something. Blood or grime, some clue that he'd missed. But there was nothing; he could see the carpeted floor below, color slightly muted as though it were smoke he looked through instead of skin.

"Every shadow. . .is _nothing_ more than a piece of the dark."

* * *

"So. . .how's the other you holding out?" Anzu asked haltingly, trying to make the question sound more like an idle inquiry, and failing. She had to hold back a grimace, and began to focus her attention on the milkshake in front of her. It was a very good thing that she wanted to be a dancer and not an actress. Yuugi's smile seemed a little forced when she looked back to him, and he bit his lower lip for a moment before answering.

"The other me is doing fine," he lied easily enough, looking down to where the Millennial Puzzle should have rested against his chest. "He's a little down, and he's not talking much, but I think that he's okay. He. . ."

Yuugi trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging. He didn't want to say it, didn't want to say anything that would make her worry. Truth be told, he didn't want to talk about his other self anymore. He hadn't even brought the other him with him, in hopes that he wouldn't be mentioned. After the events in the Virtual World with Noa, he was sure about her feelings towards him. The other him. The him that was strong and reliable; the smarter and more charismatic him. It was times like these that he sometimes wished the other him had his own name.

"What is it? Is something wrong, Yuugi?"

"Hmn? Oh, no," he said quickly, jerking his head up to meet her eyes with a small, sad smile as he started to lie again. "No, it's just that. . .well, I know that he's really worried about getting his memories back. And once he gets them. . ."

"It's okay; I understand."

But she didn't, not really anyway. And while, yes, he was worried about losing his other self, sometimes. . .sometimes it didn't seem like it would be so bad. Sometimes, when he took the Puzzle off and he was alone with his friends, there was something awkward about the way they all talked to each other, looked at each other. Like they didn't know what to do with him when he was just. . .himself: when he was just Yuugi, instead of the Duelist King, the other him. Would they still be his friends when the other him left. . .?

". . .it's almost time to go back to school now, isn't it?" Anzu asked in an attempt to change the subject. "Wow, summer break really flew by, huh?"

"Yeah. It's hard to believe that we still have more school. I guess that even after all that's happened we're still just sophomores. Or are we juniors now?"

"Yuugi," she sounded concerned when she said his name, when she reached across the table and took his hand. "Are _you_ going to be okay?"

He wanted to say something witty, or to tell her that as long as she was there with him he'd be fine. But the words stuck in his throat, and he couldn't meet her eyes. He stared down at her hand over his, felt his heart beating faster, and tried to breathe normally. A nod was all that he could manage as he licked his lips nervously. He wanted so badly to tell her that there was nothing he couldn't overcome if she was with him, beside him, supporting him. What he wanted to tell her, everything he'd ever wanted to say to her, could be summed up into those three little words —

"I'll be fine, Anzu."

Those three little words that Yuugi just didn't have the courage to say.


	2. Keepers of the Door

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Certain Japanese phrases that are difficult to translate or are simply culturally strange when translated into English – like aibou (partner), any form of nii-san/-sama (brother), or any honorific/suffix (-chan, -san, -sama, -tachi, -dono, etc) – will be left in Japanese. I will not translate any other language in this story unless someone in the chapter other than the person speaking knows that language. Also, I apologize in advance for butchering the German language.

It was a short walk from the main street, morning sky grey and overcast as the young man's quick strides carried him farther and farther from Domino High. He kept his head down, garnet gaze on the cold concrete beneath his feet, only bothering to glance up at the street sign for a moment to check his route before shying away. A nervous apprehension boiled within him, coiled up around his windpipe and threatened to suffocate him with his own fears. The demon of doubt invaded his thoughts, raped his mind and left him feeling weak, trembling. What if, he asked himself, it doesn't work? What if there is nothing to find, nothing to learn? What if?

_("Stop it.")_

The command was firm, though the soundless voice that seemed to have spoken was gentle and filled with concern. It was the voice of a friend, of his partner and the true owner of the name and body he was currently using. The young man — ancient spirit and long dead shadow that he was — closed his eyes for a moment, allowing himself a small smile as he came to a halt at the base of the stone steps leading up to the museum.

"This is it, partner," the Duelist King said the words aloud, ignorant of the strange looks he received from people passing by. He reached up to touch the Puzzle, the prison-sanctuary that hung from his neck, and could feel the original spirit flinch; shiver at the contact. The Rod and Tauk were in his backpack, the God Cards in his jacket pocket with the rest of his deck. He knew that he was ready to leave, to find his memories and his true name. But that knowledge did nothing to quell the rising anxiety from within. "This is where our path separates."

_(". . .You didn't tell anyone you were leaving today, did you?")_

"No," he answered honestly, pausing with one foot on the first step up to the museum. "I thought it might be better for them — and for us — if there were as few goodbyes as possible. Besides, they're  _your_  friends."

"That hurts, Yuugi."

The young duelist jerked at the arrival of a new voice, whirled to face the speaker with confusion. Mazaki Anzu handed her book bag to the tall brunet next to her, who took it with a sigh and half-muttered comment to his blond companion. Yuugi could only stand there, his mouth opened slightly in shock, trying to make sense of what was going on. But she just smiled at him and gently touched his shoulder.

"You may have been someone else, some Egyptian pharaoh a thousand years ago, but to us you'll always be the other Yuugi."

"I. . .it was three thousand years ago, Anzu," he corrected her with a forced laugh and strained smirk, the kind that gave away the waver he managed to keep from his voice. She squeezed his shoulder a little before being playfully pushed aside by the other two boys.

"Whatever! Who cares? I mean, Anzu's right an' all about you bein' you, no matter which one you are; but what d'ya think you're doin'? You're just gonna get up and go without saying anything, after all we've been through?" It was the blond speaking, rather indignant at the idea of being left behind on some great adventure. The tall brunet nodded in agreement, shifting Anzu's bag so that he could put his free hand in the pocket of his school slacks.

"And not only do we get to see you off, but we also get to skip first period, so, you know. . ." he trailed off with a shrug, obviously trying to lighten the heavy mood. Anzu elbowed him hard in the left side, and he shot her a wounded glare before scuttling to stand behind the blond.

"Anzu, Jounouchi, Honda. . ." his gaze drifted over each of them in turn, and finally he sighed, giving in to the genuine grin that overpowered his countenance. "I don't know what else to say, but. . .thank you."

"Hey, what are friends for?"

"So let's go already!" Honda shouted as he started up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. Jounouchi laughed and quickly followed suit, with Yuugi and Anzu coming up at a much more subdued pace. They did not look at each other, both content with the silence between them as they walked.

"There's. . .something I've been meaning to tell you, Yuugi," Anzu began as the doors of the museum banged shut behind them. The young duelist shivered when she said the name, and fervently prayed that she would stop. He did not want to leave as it was, and he worried that with anymore incentive he might actually stay. Not to mention his fear of what the original spirit would have to deal with once he was gone. No, he did not want to hear any confessions of emotion before he left this world forever.  _Don't say it!_  he begged her silently.

"I've spent a lot of time thinking about it, and I need you to know that I —"

"We're here," he somehow managed to keep the relief out of his voice as the four of them stopped in front of the tablet. The ancient king banished his petty mortal worries to the back of his mind, gazing up at the cold stone imprisoned behind the thick layer of glass. Anzu sighed, shifting slightly where she stood off to one side. The other Yuugi looked back to his friends one last time, memorizing their faces in hopes that he would not forget, and then took out his God Cards.

"Good luck, Yuugi," Jounouchi's voice was strained, slightly hoarse when he spoke. The young man just smiled and stepped towards the tablet, closing his eyes as he did so. He found himself standing in the familiar entryway to his Soul Room; the maze of staircases going in every direction, the thousands of harsh metal doors leading to nowhere seemed somehow less daunting than before. He began to walk, his feet carrying him blindly up the sandstone steps and through impossibly long corridors lined with door after door. There was no sound here in his soul, and he passed by large expanses of shadow as he pressed onward. Dust began to clog his lungs, though he knew that he had neither lungs nor dust here in the depths of the symbolic, but when he coughed his throat burned and ached, and his eyes watered dangerously.

He was deep in the maze, and even he was unsure of the way back, when he finally arrived at his destination. It towered above him, a dark and immutable carving that would serve as his gateway, his salvation. The eye of Re burned itself onto his forehead, mirrored on the tablet he had found within himself.

The Door of Memories stood before him.

He reached for it then, felt its timeworn surface beneath his hands; felt the Gods tremble in their effigies and the Items respond to the past that resided behind the Door. The stone rippled like water, shifted to a crystalline transparency that made the shadow think of literature's looking glass. A faceless man appeared on the other side, dark skin adorned with gold and dressed in the bright and lavish garb of kings, with his hand extended. It was an offering, and invitation; if the other Yuugi took this man's hand he would learn everything. He would rediscover himself. He felt himself being pulled through, his fingertips brushing the sun-roughened hand of the other, and then. . .

_("Fluchd ist der mann das verraten Gott nach Finsternis! Da wird der keine ruhe für die teufel das aufgehen da Tor!")_

A scream erupted from Yuugi's throat, the object of his vision exploding in a brilliant cascade of light and white noise that threatened to burn through his senses, to leave him blind and numb to the outside world. His eyes snapped open, wrenching him from his gilded cage and he gasped, falling to his knees as his friends rushed to his side.

"Yuugi!" Anzu sobbed his name, nearly bit through her lip in an attempt to hold back the tears of concern. Jounouchi had also crouched beside him, an arm around the smaller boy's trembling shoulders in order to keep him sitting upright. Honda remained standing, glaring death and daggers at the tablet, as though it were responsible for this strange turn of events. He turned his head to look at his companions in bewilderment, asking no one in particular, and was not at all surprised when no one answered:

"What the hell just happened?" 


	3. Children of the Fifth Sun

_("Fluchd ist der mann das verraten Gott nach Finsternis! Da wird der keine ruhe fur die teufel das aufgehen da Tor!")_

The strange words echoed in the other Yuugi's mind, slamming into the walls of fear and uncertainty that rose — unbidden — from his thoughts as he tried to collect himself. In his hand, the God Cards seemed to crackle with an unholy energy, as if to rebel against the barrier that had separated him from his memories. From his destiny. Again he gasped, his unoccupied hand jerking up to clasp at the opposite wrist in an attempt to keep the pain from shooting up the length of his arm, the feeling hot and electric in his blood. His gaze traveled up the wall and locked onto the tablet that seemed to hang so very far above him, the distance stretching to fill his imagination. There it rest, an eternity beyond the reach of his fingertips.

Slowly he blinked the faded images of light from his vision, the rest of the world coming into focus as he did so. Jounouchi was shaking him none too gently, Anzu crying out his name with the desperate hope that he would respond. From behind him he could hear Honda cursing loudly, could hear the meaningless insults falling expertly from practiced lips. The other Yuugi inhaled sharply, rousing himself from his unnatural reverie as his companions dragged him to his feet. He leaned on the blond for support.

"Yuugi! Hey, are you alright?" Jounouchi's question was the first to make its way through the roaring static left in the wake of the foreign message, the strange warning that the game master was incapable of deciphering. Coherent at long last he could still only nod, but even that trivial gesture seemed to sap what little strength he still possessed from his small and ever-weakening frame.

"C-come on," Anzu stood from where she had been kneeling, smoothing imaginary creases from her skirt. "We need to get him home."

Honda and Jounouchi nodded their agreement, moving to either side with an arm around their friend as they half-carried, half-dragged the Duelist King back towards the entrance of the museum. They passed by the mummies and artifacts that heralded the beginning of the Egyptian exhibits in silence, the halls and pathways empty. It was not surprising; few of Domino's inhabitants would have been willing to visit such a place at any hour, let alone now during the remains of the early morning haze that always filled the city.

Halfway through the section allocated to fourteenth-century Christianity Anzu noticed the sound, a steady double drip of liquid on glass. It reminded her of the beginning of a rainstorm, the kind that started slow — one agonizing drop at a time — and gradually rose to a torrential flood. But it was not raining now, and even if it had been they were still inside. Her puzzlement was expressed clearly on her countenance as she glanced around, trying to discern the source among the relics of medieval Europe that currently surrounded them. She opened her mouth to ask her companions to wait for her, but the request died on her lips as her blue-eyed gaze caught on the statue to her right.

The Virgin Mary, holy mother of the son of God, was crying.

Her tears were _red_.

"J-Jounouchi. . .Honda. . .!" her voice rose and quivered, holding the final syllable of the boy's name that stretched into a panicked scream. There was a growing pool of plasma at the statue's feet as those gruesome tears dripped off the woman's marble cheeks. Anzu turned her head then, staring in open-mouthed horror as she watched the other statues — all of which, a part of her mind whispered, were female — begin to cry the same thick and bloody tears. One, a bust of some goddess that she could not name, had nearly filled her display case. Only half of her face was still visible.

The sound of blood spattering against the glass had become a deafening roar as the flow of tears increased with every statue, and soon the hot liquid was staining every carved face in the building. Honda was barely able to shout above it as he released the other Yuugi, running over to grab Anzu by the hand and drag her away from it all:

"Forget it, Anzu! Let's just go already!"

She nodded numbly, not quite hearing him as the boys crashed through the double doors that led to the outside. There should have been sunlight by now, some kind of warmth and safe feeling that would envelope them upon their escape. There should have been people milling about the streets, going through their normal everyday activities as if nothing was wrong. They should have been able to hear car horns honking from the road, or birds chirping in the nearby trees.

Reality seemed to have something else in mind. From where they stood, it was as though the world had stopped with people standing still and silent, faces upturned to the dreary sky. As the sun's image crept out from its hiding place deep within the grey nebula that hung overhead Jounouchi's eyes widened, as if the eclipse drained not only the color from the world but the breath and hope from his very soul.

"What the. . .?" Jounouchi did not finish that thought, opting instead to run the tip of his tongue over suddenly dry lips. Fortunately, Honda stepped up to the challenge and spit out the omitted word venomously:

" _Fuck_."

The blond jumped at the curse, head jerking down and to the side to regard his friend. Really it was just an attempt to drag his thoughts away from that unrelenting darkness above them which was slowly, deliberately, _methodically_ eating away at the sun. A part of him, some part that could still believe in the impossibility of the supernatural, was trying to explain to the rest of his panicked mind that it was only the moon crossing the sun's path and that it would soon be gone. He wanted to listen to that part, to that tiny little voice of reason he still possessed, but found that he could not shake the feeling that there was something wrong. No matter how hard he tried to block it out, the rest of his mind screamed that it was _not_ the moon up there; that it was something evil, some dark and deathly serpent bent on swallowing the eye of God and plunging the world into the pits of despair. Jounouchi suppressed a shudder and shook the thought from his head.

"We don't have time for this," it was a pointless statement, but he made it anyway. It was then that Jounouchi picked up Yuugi, throwing the smaller boy across one broad shoulder so that he was easier to carry. The other Yuugi made no sound, no move against the suddenly rough switch. He simply lay there, limp; his eyes closed and head lolling to one side. "Move it, Honda."

The brunet nodded, tightening his grip on Anzu's hand as he pulled her along behind him. She stumbled, faltered, nearly lost her footing on the crowded sidewalk, but Honda twisted her arm painfully and dragged her up without even noticing. She allowed herself the ghost of a humorless smile: he would have made a good kidnapper.

They ran. Buildings began to pass by in a blur of monotonous color and grey sound, the other pedestrians nothing more than a sea of faceless beings. Jounouchi led the way back, the duelist he carried never rousing from the lifeless fit that held him captive.

* * *

"You gonna be okay now, Yuugi?"

Yuugi smiled softly, and nodded. It was just Yuugi this time, his shadow having long since fled the body in favor of searching the maze. For a while Yuugi had tried to help, gently holding his hand as they walked. But they had started going in deeper, much deeper than Yuugi had ever been before. His other self told him to go back, told him that he did not want them both to be lost forever. Remembering the game master's words caused him to flinch a little, reminding him that the difference between the two Yuugis was more than just charisma and eloquence. Jounouchi placed a hand on his shoulder. Yuugi quickly shook his head as if to dismiss his friend's concern.

"I'm fine, but. . .what time is it? I feel like I've been sleeping for hours. . ."

Jounouchi struggled for an answer, rubbing the back of his neck somewhat sheepishly. The blond quickly glanced over to where Honda had been only moments before, sprawled out on his back with his uniform jacket bunched up under his head like a pillow as he slept. But his usual accomplice had left the room, mumbling something about being too hungry to sleep as he headed to the kitchen. There was no one else in the living room that he could turn to; Anzu was on the phone in the other room as well, asking her parents if she could be allowed to stay out for just a little while longer. Even Yuugi's grandfather was busy, quietly closing up the game shop. He sighed heavily, the hand on Yuugi's shoulder moving up to ruffle the boy's hair affectionately.

"That's probably because you have," he said it with a smile, but the tiredly worried tone was still evident regardless of how hard he tried to hide it. "It's a little past eight right now. But did you. . .I mean, did it work? Are you alone?"

To Yuugi, at least, the question struck like the blinding light of a modern Inquisition: harsh and impersonal, demanding that he take some kind of responsibility for this error. He blinked rapidly for a second, the tip of his tongue darting out over dry and cracked lips. "N-No. The other me's still here. I. . .I guess it didn't work, did it?"

"Hell, Yuugi; don't worry about it," Jounouchi stood, a stiff tension easing out of his shoulders as he relaxed. He laced his fingers together as his hands found their way to the back of his head. "I'm gonna let everyone else know you're awake now. Just chill here for a sec, okay? Catch the news, or something."

The smaller teen nodded, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully as he watched his friend walk away. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but there seemed to be a bounce in the blond's step; a sense of relief that the Duelist King yet lived. It made Yuugi wonder if the others would react in the same way, with that same soft peace of mind — so evident on Jounouchi's face that it had made Yuugi want to scream — and that muted feeling of elation which would express itself in happy sighs and sweet smiles. What if the door of memories had opened and returned the other Yuugi to his proper place? Would Jounouchi have said the same thing, or acted the same way, if he had been sent away?

 _("Do you hate me?")_

Yuugi jerked into a sitting position on the sofa, his head automatically turning to his left as though looking to the owner of the statement. The words had sounded, had _felt_ , distorted in his mind as if they came to him over a great distance. They sounded almost fuzzy with a strange static that crackled along the back of his tongue and behind his eyes. "What?" he said it out loud, not trusting thought alone to carry it into the depths of his soul where his other half was residing. "What are you talking about? Why would I?"

 _("I've caused a lot of trouble for you lately, haven't I? I won't blame you if you hate me for it; so, do you?")_

They were both silent for a long moment, Yuugi watching as the dark shadow of the game master slowly came into focus on the armrest beside him. The other Yuugi flickered once, his body snapping into and out of the boy's vision like a picture with bad reception before stabilizing. The static feeling on Yuugi's tongue crawled down his throat, tickling his lungs and causing him to cough. Yuugi pushed the feeling aside, told himself that he would worry about it later, and swallowed hard before answering:

"Don't. . .don't be ridiculous! You're my other half and —"

"Yuugi!" it was Honda, returning from the kitchen with a sandwich in one hand, his uniform jacket tossed carelessly over one shoulder. Anzu rushed past the brunet a second later, dropping to her knees in front of the sofa, her hands clutching at his sleeves momentarily before yanking him close to her in a desperate embrace that was awkwardly returned by its recipient.

"Oh god, Yuugi, we were all so worried! What happened? Are you okay?" she asked, her face buried against his neck. He could feel her breath there, hot and unsteady, as if she were holding back tears. Her shoulders began to shake, and a strange dampness appeared on his skin soon after. She could not hold them back, and he tightened his arms around her as he tried to sound reassuring.

"I-I'm okay, Anzu. I'm okay now; please don't cry. . ." Yuugi begged her, his eyes darting over to Honda for some form of assistance. Jounouchi had returned, stepping into place beside his tall friend, who greeted him with a sandwich-filled grin. The two boys laughed, moving to gently place their hands on the girl's shoulders.

There was a surprised yell from the shop front that effectively shattered the amicable mood of the four friends. They jerked to awareness, jumping to their feet just as the sound of breaking glass reached them. It was followed by what had become a familiar and unmistakable noise to them since the events of Duelist Kingdom: the heavy thud of a body hitting the floor. They ran through the kitchen and short hallway to the game store with it still ringing in their ears, Honda and Jounouchi in the lead.

The shop was a mess when they entered. Shelves hung to the walls haphazardly, pieces to obscure games and various puzzles lay scattered across the floor. The glass counter that Sugoroku always sat behind had been smashed in; the old man's stool had fallen onto its side by the entry way from the house. Duel Monster cards littered the caved-in counter; some part of Yuugi vaguely registered that his deck box was there amongst the debris, empty and crushed as if by a heavy boot. On the other side of the counter a pained, wavering moan could be heard.

"Grandpa!" Yuugi cried, skidding on loose glass as he hurried to where his grandfather lay, one arm outstretched towards the door as if reaching for something. When his grandson knelt beside him he grabbed the boy's arm, pointing to the door.

"The God Cards. . ." he gasped breathlessly, squeezing the appendage to emphasize the importance of his next statement. "Yuugi, I'm so sorry. They. . .they took the God Cards!"

"Shit!" Honda cursed loudly, dropping the remains of his sandwich. He and Jounouchi were already heading for the exit. "Anzu! Call the police, report a robbery, and get an ambulance over here to make sure Grandpa's okay. Yuugi! We have to go after them, now!"

The change from average boy to long-dead king was faster than Yuugi expected, a small gasp escaping him as he was ripped from his body and slammed into an incorporeal form. It left him reeling, head spinning with the numb confusion of no longer needing directions or having any perception of depth. The shadow now controlling him stood quickly, giving Anzu a nod of acknowledgment before he hurried to the door, careful not to slip on discarded miniatures and booster packs.

"They couldn't have gone far!" Jounouchi shouted to Honda as they prepared to hunt the escaping intruders down opposite ends of the sidewalk. Before that could happen, though, three bight lights flicked on directly in front of them from the street, accompanied by the roar of three separate engines. Honda swore, raising an arm to protect his eyes. Jounouchi faltered under the blinding illumination, ducking his head slightly and peering out from under his bangs with squinting eyes. A hard, commanding male voice arose from the origin of the light in front of them, the words clipped and formal, tainted with the faint air of a familiar American accent:

"When the forbidden door is opened, and the ways of the One True God are threatened. . ."

"The light of Orichalchum will purge this filthy world, and the Lord's servants will step forth to create a New Order. . ." a second voice boomed through the night, still male but deeper than the first and with a heavy, slightly nasal accent. This man said his vowels wrong, as if he had only recently learned to speak Japanese, and was harder to understand than the first. Yet another voice was added to finish the declaration, once again male and once again foreign. He did not speak Japanese, and neither Yuugi nor his shadow could decipher the American words he spoke through his incomprehensible accent. Only the final statement that the man shouted to them over the revving of an engine reached them across the language barrier, remaining in their minds as though emblazoned there:

_"We are Doom."_

Finally, their eyes adjusted, and the motorcycles behind the light came into focus. The men were still hidden though, this time by visors, goggles, and helmets. Their motorcycles were lined up in a slightly uneven row, the man in the middle just far enough in front of the other two to show that he was their leader. It was unnecessary; no one could have mistaken the man for anything else. He was a towering, ominous giant even when sitting, and the long sleeves of his strap-covered jacket did nothing to hide his imposing figure.

"Nameless Pharaoh," the man in the middle began, identifying himself as the second speaker. "Word of your sins and witchery have reached our sacred order, and you must now be tried for your transgression against the Lord."

"Hey, who the fuck do you thi—" Honda had just managed to find his voice amidst the shock and confusion brought on by these three strangers, but was cut off by the thin young man on the right.

"Silence, heretic! The sentence must be read."

"Your trial will commence atop that building," their leader continued, pointing to a tall office building under construction several blocks down. He then held up the three God Cards, their pictures turned to face their rightful owner. "We have taken your idols and false gods. Your only hope for their safe return lies with your cooperation."

"The Sacred Knights have spoken in the name of the One True God, as dictated by His holy Avatar."

"You have one hour to comply."


	4. Harbingers of Death

Unsurprisingly, the front doors were locked when Yuugi tried them, fingers wrapped around the metal door handles as he peered into the darkness behind the glass. He doubted the construction crew had called in their resident electrician yet; the bottom floor seemed finished but, upon looking up, they could see that from the third floor onwards only the wooden frame and metal supports had been roughed in. There were six stories all together, and the shadow within Yuugi could only hope that the rooftop would be completed. He did not want to ask his friends to accompany him if it would not be safe.

"We can't get in that way, Yuugi," Honda said from where he leaned against the outside wall, arms crossed over his chest. His uniform jacket had been buttoned up to keep out the cold, for what seemed like the first — and perhaps last — time in Honda's high school career. Yuugi slapped his open hand against the glass, leaning forward until his forehead touched the chilled metal of the building's double doors.

"I know that."

The sound of breaking glass reached them from around the corner, followed by Jounouchi's triumphant 'gotcha!' Honda offered the duelist a small, tight lipped smile and a weak joke:

"And this, I'm sure, is why you hang out with us delinquents."

"Neither you nor Jounouchi is a delinquent anymore," Yuugi reminded him, releasing the doors and turning the corner to find Anzu shaking her head at Jounouchi's antics. He had his uniform jacket wrapped around his right hand to protect it from the broken glass. It did not take a genius to figure out what had happened, though it helped to see him still punching out the jagged window fragments. Yuugi gave Honda a wry smirk. "Now _that's_ a true duelist."

Honda just laughed.

"Shouldn't that set off an alarm, or something?" Anzu asked, nibbling her lower lip with worry when she heard nothing of that nature. "What if the police show up?"

"We'll worry about that. . ." Jounouchi pulled himself up and over the window sill, finishing his sentence once his feet were planted firmly on the tiled floor inside. "When we have to. It must be a silent alarm, but I doubt they'll check it for a while with things the way they are."

"Yeah, there _was_ a looting riot down on main street; it was on the news just before Yuugi got up," Honda followed after the blond, kicking the larger shards of glass away from his feet. "I bet we've got a good hour or so before anyone has time to stop by this building."

Anzu rolled her eyes, brushing glass onto the ground with her sleeve. Unlike the boys she could not simply swing her legs over, and would need to sit on the sill, turn, and then hop down. It was on nights like these that she wished she were the type of girl to wear gym shorts under her skirt.

Once they had all clambered inside, Jounouchi and Yuugi lead the way back to the stairs. Before leaving the game store, Anzu had searched the house for flashlights. Her hunt had been a success; all three of the boys carried one. During that time, Yuugi had called his mother, informing her of his grandfather's condition. Sugaroku was taken to the hospital for the night by the paramedics with the assurance that Yuugi's mother was on her way back to Domino and that Yuugi would be over to see him as soon as he could. The four friends had slipped out the back door after that, knowing that they could not waste time talking to any police that might have followed the ambulance.

The police would not have understood.

They climbed the stairs slowly, their footsteps sounding too loud in the eerie quiet of the night. None of them spoke until they passed the third floor marker on the wall. Anzu was wringing her hands again, looking back every so often to make sure that Honda was still behind her, bringing up the rear of the company.

"Who. . .who do you think these men are?" the question was undirected, her voice faltering slightly. Truthfully, she did not expect anyone to answer. But Yuugi stopped, turning on the upper step as he cast a backward glance towards her.

"Didn't you hear them, Anzu?" he asked humorlessly, eyes narrowed and one hand adjusting the straps on his Duel Disk. "They are Doom."

* * *

The roof was closer to being finished than they had expected, the groundwork bolted down flat across the beams. It was wet beneath their feet from a prior rain; footfalls echoing hollowly off the metal. A raised plateau had been set up in the center of the roof, a painted white circle adorning it. It looked like a helicopter pad. Standing at the far end of the platform was a tall man in a hooded brown robe, his head bent so that they could not see his face. There was a cord around his waist and a strange blue device on his arm where his Duel Disk should have rested. The device was circular, almost like a tiny shield. There seemed to some kind of spike of material attached to it, though the length of it appeared to have been drawn in upon itself, leaving only a blunt rectangle atop a sharp point.

Yuugi motioned for the others to stay back as he handed Anzu his flashlight. Slowly, he stepped up onto the helipad, walking to his place directly across from the hooded man. When he stopped, the man raised his head, and spoke:

"Nameless Pharaoh, I am honored by thy presence," he had the same nasal accent as the largest of the men from Doom, vowels pronounced wrong but the sentence structure basically correct. His Japanese was archaic, and difficult to understand because of it. Yuugi could only make out a few of the man's features due to distance and darkness: a short, neatly groomed beard and connecting mustache, a gleaming monocle over his left eye, a square jaw and a prominent nose set in a middle-aged face. The man bowed low to him, arms spread wide in a gesture of submission. "I am Grimm, a humble servant of my lord, Sir Raphael, and a follower of the teachings of Doom."

"So, you're with _them_ ," Jounouchi growled the words, rolling up his sleeves as if getting ready for a fist fight with the old man. Honda put an arm across the other boy's chest, holding him back. Grimm just nodded solemnly before bowing low to Yuugi again.

"I am told that thou art also called the Duelist King, Mutou Yuugi-dono. Please," he beseeched the young man, hands spread wide in an imploring manner. "Accept my challenge."

"There's something you should know first," Yuugi warned, drumming his fingers on the L.P. screen of his Duel Disk. "The cards you stole from me cannot be used by just any man. Only those who are chosen can summon those monsters. Do you understand?"

"Hmn," Grimm chuckled slightly, straightening as the spike of material elongated, the point shooting out to reveal its true nature; the monster field of his bizarre blue Duel Disk unfolded, sliding out from under that blunt rectangle. It, apparently, had been a monster card slot. The lights, arranged in a pattern of indecipherable symbols, flashed momentarily to show that it had been activated. "We shall see if thy pagan Gods deem me worthy or no."

"Interesting. I'll accept your challenge!"

Yuugi smirked, his own Duel Disk field snapping together and forward, L.P. screen blinking once as the number four thousand appeared in red. He and Grimm both drew five cards, but it was Yuugi who took the first turn. A sixth card was added to his hand, and he began shouting his actions to his opponent as he played.

"I summon Magnet Warrior, Beta, face-up in defense. Then, I'll set one card, and end my turn," he folded his arms over his chest afterwards, eyes narrowed. The metallic yellow monster that had appeared on his field was crouching over the holographic image of its card; its round head was tipped forward, the ends of what looked to be a horseshoe magnet protruding from the sides of its head. Yuugi watched the older man intently. There could be no doubt that Doom had given Grimm at least one of the God Cards; only a fool would pass up the opportunity to use the strongest monsters the Dueling World had ever seen. And Grimm, despite his awkward speech, did not seem like a fool.

"Draw," Grimm glanced over the cards at his disposal, fingers lingering on the tops as he picked his monster of choice. "I summon Marauding Captain, face-up for the attack. His effect hath allowed me to summon a low-level warrior from my hand. I shall activate it now, and summon Animal Tamer to the field for the attack."

The monsters materialized as Grimm placed their respective cards on the field of his Duel Disk, their activation accompanied by the technological hum of the Kaiba Corp. projectors. A blond-haired warrior clad in European-style armor was the first to manifest, a sword in each battle-scarred hand. The wind toyed with the soldier's pale blue cape, revealing the blood red underside to his opponent. Next, a woman with long hair faded onto the field. She carried a whip, stretched tight between her hands, and her face was adorned with colored tattoos.

 _("Two monsters in his first turn,")_ the Duelist King commented idly to his host. _("That's not bad.")_

"Mutou-dono," Grimm's voice ended their internal dialogue before it had a chance to begin, his face downcast as he regarded one of his cards almost fondly. Something about the change in his demeanor set off an alarm within Yuugi, and he braced himself for the electric shock that he was certain would soon flow out of his Duel Disk. What card did Grimm have? Was this the kind of deck that ran direct damage combos? "Allow me to reveal Doom's true power!" — here, he held up a magic card, but Yuugi could not recognize the picture nor read the name of it from where he stood — "Behold! The Lord God's mysterious power hath been harnessed in the darkness; it imprisons the faithless and the damned within the divine prophecy. I activate. . .the Orichalchum Seal!"

Yuugi's mouth worked silently as the very air around him became chaotic, whipping through his hair and clothes, an unnatural chill creeping down his skin to the bone. There was an ancient power growing here, being called upon, and some part of the long-dead pharaoh screamed for blood to be shed. He lifted his face to the heavens, watching with horror and amazement as a blue-green double circle began its descent onto the rooftop. It did, indeed, look like some sort of seal, the glowing symbols identical — or as near to it as Yuugi could tell — to the ones covering Grimm's Duel Disk.

As the seal came down around the two duelists, Yuugi felt a sharp pain in his chest. He gasped slightly, placing a hand over his heart. It felt like there was something gripping his ribcage and squeezing. He looked up just in time to see it land, the seal pulsing with that devilish light like a heartbeat. Once the dust had settled, the light flared abruptly, power arcing out towards his companions. Anzu screamed as it burned into her, Jounouchi and Honda both losing their footing as they were knocked away from the helipad. They fell to the rooftop heavily, much too close to the edge of the roof for Yuugi's liking. Yuugi lurched towards them, but slammed into some kind of invisible boundary. Frustrated, he pounded his fist against the unseen wall of the seal at the end of the helipad, shouting:

"Jounouchi, Anzu, Honda!"

A cruel and biting laugh erupted from the other end of the playing field, dragging his attention away from his friends.

"Orichalchum's Seal. . .'tis a ritual that, when invoked, removes the possibility of outside interference. It allows none to cross its border," here, Grimm paused, and Yuugi glanced behind to find the cause of the delay. The older man's head was bent forward, a pendant swaying on a leather cord from around his neck. It glowed with the same strange light as the seal. Suddenly, Grimm lifted his head, eyes impossibly wide and irises lost in veined sclera as he shouted above the wind, voice growing fanatical. "Only the victor shall feel God's mercy. The defeated soul shall be sealed, and used to serve the Lord!"

"Are you mad?" the Duelist King spat, anger rising within him. He saw the Seal of Orichalchum etched into Grimm's flesh; it shone with an uncanny brilliance from above and between his eyes. "Do you claim to be a messenger of the Dark Games, Grimm?" You are no match —"

The Puzzle activated with the sound of old metal chimes, an elegant and stylized eye appearing in gold on Yuugi's forehead as he spoke. But it quickly faded back into nothing, and the nameless pharaoh was left speechless. Yuugi stared at his unresponsive Item in confusion. "Wha. . .what?"

Grimm laughed again, this time arrogant and condescending. The humble gentleman he had previously been fell away like a cheap party mask. "'Tis of no use! Here, in the embrace of God, thy heathen relics are without power."

Garnet colored eyes scanned the edges of the seal, examining the pulsating symbols of the barrier more closely. There were foreign to him, not at all like the hieroglyphs associated with Egypt's Millennial Items. If anything, they looked almost Greek, perhaps alchemic in nature. He would have to ask Bakura about them later. Still. . .the power was similar, was dark and corrupted; it would taint the soul of an unprotected mind, twisting and warping the perception of reality. Yuugi took note of the lines inside the double circle, making sure to ask about the importance of the six-pointed star they had created as well. Had it not been for the angular sharpness of the star, Yuugi might have assumed it truly was alchemic, or perhaps even connected to the old Hebrew bible. However, the points were not spaced equilaterally, and there seemed to be no identifiable equilibrium within it, which resulted in a complete lack of recognition and caused him to believe that it was unrelated to either symbol.

"The Seal of Orichalchum hath been activated in the duel," the light from the symbols illuminated Grimm's next actions, the grand gestures now visible across the field. "The darkness within us shall become weapons for my monsters in their crusade. Their attack power hath been enhanced by five hundred." As he spoke, the blue-green star appeared on the foreheads of his monsters, their eyes flashing an ominous shade of red. Yuugi took a small step back, bracing himself. Grimm's free hand slashed through the air as he pointed, shouting. "Go, Marauding Captain! Attack Magnet Warrior, Beta!"

The captain readied his two swords, lunging forward with a resonating cry. His blade sliced into Beta, catching briefly on the robot's internal workings before pulling free just below the ribcage on the opposite side. There was a pause, the image flickering as the computer processors integrated the new data, quick mental math subtracting the machine's defense from the warrior's attack, and then Beta exploded in a bright array of pixels.

"Activate trap," Yuugi pressed down on one of the buttons on his Duel Disk, the holographic card at his feet flipping up to reveal a picture of a man grimacing as a glowing cord snaked out of his bare chest. "Soul Rope! When my monster is destroyed as a result of battle, I can pay one thousand Life Points to special summon a four-star monster to the field from my deck." He pulled his deck free from his Duel Disk, shuffling though it as he searched. "I summon Magnet Warrior, Gamma, to the field face-up in defense position."

The machine appeared on the field in front of him, arms guarding its rounded torso as it crouched. Grimm snorted faintly, eying the monster with quiet amusement.

"I see. . ." the man murmured, fingering his cards. "Thy fate is to be destroyed by the righteous, Mutou-dono. Thou dost nothing but forestall the inevitable." He then set one card, sliding it into the Magic/Trap zone of his field, and ended his turn.

From behind him, Yuugi could hear the muted voices of his companions. Their words were lost in the distance and power exuded by the Orichalchum Seal, but the concern and tension they all felt was still strongly present. Nonetheless, he could not let his mind wander. He had the makings of a brilliant combination in his hand, and if he drew the right monster. . .well, Yuugi doubted Grimm's new field card could withstand Battle City tactics. Yuugi announced his turn, and drew a new card.

"I'll summon Magnet Warrior, Alpha, face-up in attack position," he slapped the card he had just drawn onto the field. The green robot appeared hovering over the image of its card, short blade at the ready. Grimm interrupted before he could announce his next move.

"At this time, I active the trap, Invisible Soldier," he gestured broadly as the card revealed itself, showing a dark figure standing over a lone warrior in the background. In the fore, other soldiers seemed to be scattering. Yuugi did not ever remember encountering this particular card before. "With this, I can call forth a dark monster when my enemy summons monsters. Come now, Executioner Majala!"

The trap card turned, revealing a man with dark purple skin and a golden mask embedded in his face. Or, perhaps that mask was his face. Regardless, it bore the stylized Egyptian eye in gold upon between where its eyes would have gone, but that was the only feature it had. Metal bracers affixed with heavy dirks were strapped to both arms. It seemed to float in mid-air as the trap card behind it evaporated, chuckling. After a moment, the Seal of Orihalchum etched itself onto Majala's forehead, raising its attack by five hundred points.

"I play the magic card, Shallow Grave, from my hand, allowing both players to summon one monster to the field from the Graveyard," the card was overturned as he spoke, exposing a picture of a hooded skeleton with glowing white eyes crawling out of a pit, an axe in hand. Yuugi pointed to the space he was designating for the special summon. "I will revive Magnet Warrior, Beta." The monster rose up from the helipad, bringing a smirk to Yuugi's face as he continued the combination. "Alpha, Beta, Gamma. The three magnetic warriors can merge to create. . ."

The monsters did as they were told, launching themselves into the air. Each one broke into pieces that gravitated towards one another. A bright light followed this, hiding the exact moment of unity, and down from the sky flew a new monster.

"Magnet Warrior, Valkyrion. Attack!" he raised a hand, and gestured to the other side of the field. Valkyrion rose from its place on the field, rushing to meet Grimm's Marauding Captain. Their swords clashed, but the captain's attack was no match for the metallic soldier. He erupted in a flurry of blue and dull green pixels. Grimm flinched as his Life Points dropped from four thousand to two thousand two hundred. Yuugi then ended his turn to the sound of his friends' cheers.

". . .I suppose that thou art deserving of thy name, Duelist King. However," a crooked smile had crept onto his face, the shadows cast by the light of Orichalchum making him look somehow older, almost sickly. His lids were drooping as though he were tired, his words beginning to slur into each other drunkenly. Grimm swayed slightly on his feet, and, for a moment, Yuugi wondered if he would fall. "Thy kingdom is far in coming, Mutou-dono!"

"Don't make me laugh, asshole!" Jounouchi's shout was loud, clear as day, ringing through the night air like a gunshot. "Without the God Cards, reaching over three thousand attack points is impo—"

Jounouchi cut himself short, faltering under the realization of what Grimm's confidence implied. Anzu's hands fluttered to her mouth, and Honda cursed quietly.

"No, you can't —" Yuugi began, taking an involuntary step forward.

"Ah, how thou art mistaken," Grimm straightened then, widening his stance as if to better balance himself. The moment of weakness had passed. "I shall summon thy pagan idol from his cursed effigy!" His eyes widened as he played his hand, delirious grin growing with each passing moment. "I activate Monster Reborn to revive the Marauding Captain from the grave."

The captain rose up from the field, and Yuugi tried to call out a warning to Grimm. His opponent would not listen to his words, to his desperate tone that pleaded for him not to summon one of the Gods if he could not control it. What if it was like the Battle City finals, when Rishidi summoned the false Re, and was struck down by lightning? Or when Mai tried to summon the Sun God in a later duel? Yuugi would not bring himself to believe that Grimm could deserve to die — _or worse_ , a darker part of the pharaoh whispered from some hidden shadow in his soul — over this game.

"I shall present the three monsters as a blood offering," he was shouting, voice strained and fanatic in its rapture. Yuugi screamed one last time for Grimm to stop, knowing that it was too late as he watched Grimm's monster's glow white and disappear. The man raised his arms to the sky, face uplifted to the heavens. Yuugi was certain of Grimm's smile as he watched the field erupt behind his opponent, Grimm's brown robes whipping about his body. Dust flew all around them, and Yuugi raised a hand to guard his eyes. "I call forth the demon god, the Monolithic Soldier, Obelisk!"

Grimm's insane laughter ripped through the night as Obelisk rose behind him. Anzu clutched the back of Jounouchi's jacket, nervously watching Obelisk's face with a mixed sense of fear and awe. It had always, in a way, reminded her of an Egyptian death mask: pretty and frightening and eternally stylized in that overtly ornate manner that the Egyptians did everything in. Perhaps it was the sparkle of the blue jewel located just above and between its narrow red eyes. Maybe it was the trident-shaped horn that jutted from its forehead, or the curving protrusions from its temples. Whatever her reasoning, it was a ghastly image that flickered over them, rendered hazy for a moment by the ill-powered projectors.

The Seal of Orichalchum's effect was activating.

As the glowing green symbol etched itself onto the jewel in Obelisk's forehead the god howled, a deep, resonant sound that chilled them all to the bone. Obelisk's image snapped into focus then, each line outlined with a startlingly sharp clarity. One of the mainframes back at Kaiba Corp had surely exploded due to an overloading of the power grid, sucked dry by the god's need to enter reality. The rooftop beneath it sagged slightly under the sudden addition of a heavy weight, causing Grimm to stagger. Yuugi also faltered, taking an involuntary step towards the other end of the playing field. One of the projectors shattered, smoke rising in curling tendrils from the cracked machine. The other monsters on the field were suddenly rendered two-dimensional and slightly blocky, detailed folds of clothing or shine of light off metal lost in the small explosion.

It did not affect the god, however, who still towered over them.

"Impossible. . ." he whispered, staring up at the god numbly. Obelisk's naturally red eyes glowed briefly, its heavy breathing rattling in its broad chest, a white aura surrounding its muscular body. Magic and trap cards were supposed to have no effect on the powerful God Cards, but the Seal had still managed to enhance Obelisk's attack power to a devastating four thousand five hundred points. Grimm had a hand to his face, gripping his head as he spoke breathlessly:

"In the beginning, thou spoke of a select few who could summon thy precious 'gods,' but with the Seal of Orichalchum, even a lowly servant such as I can control them!"

No clouds obscured the clear sky, no lightning struck down the man before him. Nothing happened.

But how could this be? How could Grimm call forth one of the sacred Egyptian Gods without punishment? Did the Orichalchum Seal take the place of a Millennial Item? His head was reeling from this new development. Just who were these men who claimed to be Doom?

 _("Don't give up!")_ his other half cried out, appearing at his side. He turned his head to meet the boy's strong gaze, nodding.

 _We have not lost yet,_ he assured his partner. _I will play to the last card._


End file.
